Q: New iMac 27inch screen flickering/tearing/shutoff

I agree.

From my perspective, the flickering issue on the 27" iMacs (can't speak to the 21.5"ers) is /solved/. This firmware fixed it. It's solid. Been beating up this iMac and I just can't make it flash and flicker, and that's something it used to do all the time.

Now, if you still have the yellowing problem, that's different and obviously still ongoing. No firmware is going to fix that, unfortunately ...

Well, I don't think we should close this - yet. It needs maybe four weeks of experience and no new cases to rule out any new flickers. I for my part will at a certain point say good-bye, namely when I will feel sure about my Mac. Until then there will be short updates to keep everyone informed.

Today's update: No flickering or any other problems with my week 03 iMac. I installed todays software update and went on using the computer.

One other thing I should note ...

You need to apply BOTH the iMac Graphics Firmware update and the iMac Display Firmware Update (yes, you need BOTH of them).

If you're certain both are applied, and are still having a flickering/flashing problem, then you need to contact AppleCare. That might be the sign of a genuinely defective machine that needs repair/replacement.

Best of luck! (And I know at least someone asked -- no, I don't work for Apple or have any connection to them. Just work in the IT industry and understand how this firmware stuff works...)

Given that the flickering problem is often infrequent and has returned for some after several weeks, I think it's way too early to close the book on this one yet. Plus, there are also a ton of folks lurking on this thread, watching for updates, without posting anything. Since this thread has come to represent most of the manufacturing issues with the 27" iMacs (and has a lot of weight & press attention due to the many, many reports), my vote is to keep it open until we're 100% certain at least the flickering issue is fixed - regardless of how absolutely, positively convinced Dennis is that it's now fixed.

Also, re: imac.squeaked.com not having a lot of recent reports - my guess is that one factor is that the site owner isn't as active in updating the stats anymore. I'm sure it gets to be a slog 3 months in. For example, I submitted my yellowing / bluing / dark band issue to the site yesterday (week 05) and haven't seen any week 05 reports listed there yet.

LOL - I'm convinced that it's resolved whatever the heck was wrong with my iMac. If yours has the same issue (whatever that was), I'm convinced that's fixed too.

But any other issues are still fair game

Yes, I think we should close this thread SOON but not just yet!

The fix seems to work well, at least we are not getting any reports of it not working or making things worse like what happened with the first one.

So it's looking good!
But I think we should wait a few days for more reports to come in.
Lets wait till the end of the week?

Dennis Murphy wrote:
Best of luck! (And I know at least someone asked -- no, I don't work for Apple or have any connection to them. Just work in the IT industry and understand how this firmware stuff works...)

Many of us work in the IT industry. Unless you're reverse engineering the patch and / or somehow know what's causing the problem, I think it's hard to know beforehand that it's going to work. There was a patch earlier, too, but that didn't do much.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to apply the update until after 7PM PST today....I will report back any update. It does begin to flicker 100% of the time when I am using Pages so I will be giving it a workout with that tonight!

Sorry Brian if I sounded nasty - certainly wasn't meant that way! All I meant was that I've got some confidence in knowing that this isn't a cable issue, a heat issue, or a hard issue that can't be fixed via firmware... it apparently has been fixed.

What I know is that, previously, I had flickering and flashing that happened in any app, starting about 1/2 hour after boot. After applying the patch and running the iMac pretty much around the clock (it was on, but obviously I wasn't watching while I slept it's been flawless. Truly flawless.

Now, are there other problems that persist? Sure! But whatever was plaguing my machine is fixed. That much, I'm sure of.

At one time I thought I installed firmware for the graphics card via an update notice. I spoke to someone at Apple yesterday about another issue and told him about the flickering problem as well which just happened to me a couple of days ago...long after I updated the firmware. He said the flickering issue is a known issue with the 27" iMacs and that I needed to take it to the store for them to fix. It requires a replacement of the graphics card.

I just wanted to report back on my experience and repair. In short, I found that if you reset the PRAM/NVRAM in the usual way, the flickering will stop for about 5-7 days (probably depending on your usage). I went through three cycles of that before taking it in for repair. The video card and the video were replaced exactly one week ago and all is (still) well. Repair guys were confident that this fixes the problem (they have done several). If mine has a relapse, I'll report back. Bottom line seems to be: get the video card and cable replaced or make PRAM resets part of your weekly routine....

Musicbiz25,

There is a NEW update that came out last night.
The one you installed before was the first update and did not work for most users.

According to reports here, this new one is working well



As for replacing the graphic card, everyone here will tell you that the card is NOT the problem!

It's fair to say that a fair portion of the messages here originate from a smaller group of people posting over and over again. I'm not belittling the problems, just bringing that out.

Also, since this is a support forum, people usually won't come here unless they need support. If things are working properly, why bother? Unless you're a professional geek like me.

My "week 47" Core i7 iMac never had problems with flickering or yellow screens. Yes, I used the test patterns to double check.

Both firmware updates were applied. The most recent one appears to have increased the apparent deepness and sharpness of text. Go figure -- or maybe it's my imagination.

I also see that delivery delays have been reduced from three weeks to two weeks, despite the rumor originating on one site that production of the 27-inch iMac was halted. Maybe or maybe not. It'll probably never be proven.

In any case, no large LCD display will ever be 100%. But if you get a good 99% level of color consistency across the screen, be happy and get on with your life.

Peace,
Gene

Gene, well said.

I've done the update with the last display firmware.
It appears that the refresh rate has been decreased.
Am I wrong?